Perceptions of the medical relevance of patients` stories of painful and adverse life experiences: a focus group study among Norwegian General Practitioners

Figures & data

Box 1. Our understanding of the terminology we use in this paper.

Biography: an account of someone’s life, used in a relatively broad sense. Story: a biographical expansion of the term “medical history”, i.e., patients’ statements regarding events/facts pertinent to the problem or situation in question. The present study deals with patients’ accounts of existentially painful childhood or adult life experiences, such as having been rejected, betrayed, victimized or abused, be it by someone close or by a stranger, and with patients’ accounts of such adverse childhood experiences as war, poverty, neglect, parental criminality or substance abuse, tragic losses of close family members. Narrative: the person’s subjective understanding and presentation of a situation and/or a series of events, including their perceptions of their own identity and life expectations. Since a narrative reflects one particular viewpoint, it is open to being reconsidered and changed (Frank, 1998; Launer, 2002). Our study focuses on narratives expressing painful and/or traumatic experiences.

Table I. Characteristics of the participating General Practitioners (n = 18).

Participant	Gender	Age	GP Specialist	Years as a GP	Practice location	No. of patients on GP’s list
A	M	32	No	2.5	Urban	900
B	F	76	Yes	31	Rural	1000
C	M	25	No	1	Rural	850
D	F	63	Yes	35	Rural	850
E	M	34	No	4	Rural	900
F	F	69	Yes	37	Urban	1040
G	F	55	Yes	12	Rural	950
H	M	44	Yes	14	Rural	1400
I	M	42	No	3	Urban	1000
J	M	59	Yes	29	Urban	1240
K	F	60	Yes	30	Rural	1150
L	M	60	Yes	5	Urban	900
M	F	50	Yes	9.5	Rural	900
N	M	59	Yes	23	Urban	900
O	M	39	Yes	7	Urban	1250
P	M	62	Yes	32	Urban	1000
Q	F	42	Yes	11	Urban	1000
R	M	64	Yes	17	Rural	600

Frank, A. W. (1998). Just listening: Narrative and deep illness. Families, Systems, & Health, 16(3), 197. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0089849

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Launer, J. (2002). Narrative-based primary care – a practical guide. Radcliffe Medical Press.

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